Monthly Archives: January 2012

Eugene Peterson (The Message) in his introduction of II Corinthians says:”Because leadership is necessarily an exercise of authority, it easily shifts into an exercise of power. But the minute it does that, it begins to inflict damage on both the leader and the led. Paul, studying Jesus, had learned a kind of leadership in which he managed to stay out of the way so that the others could deal with God without having to go through him. All who are called to exercise leadership in whatever capacity—parent or coach, pastor or president, teacher or manager—can be grateful to Paul for this letter, and to the Corinthians for provoking it.”

He is basically referring to the transition from I Corinthians, where the apostle Paul confronts many unbiblical practices in the Corinthian church, to II Corinthians where he talks about his own authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ. There may have been some criticism levied him as a result of the directness of I Corinthians. Maybe a little of “Who are you to be the boss of me?” Paul wasn’t trying to exert some kind of power over them in teaching them the Word, but he did have the authority from God to teach. There is a great deal of difference between having the authority to teach and exerting power over someone. There are great lessons of leadership in II Corinthians. Paul had the lessons of the leadership of Jesus Christ, a servant, an under rower, grace giver (II Timothy 2:1-2), a frontrunner in the true sense of the Word. The power of God that both showed was power that built up, encouraged, comforted, and empowered to do the same for others. I am looking forward to delving into II Corinthians from this point of view.

Here’s a start:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort (link); Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (comfort or consolation is used many times in II Corinthians)

Recently I was involved in a conversation with a whole group of people about what they believed about God and Jesus Christ. As I listened to the conversation, I could tell there were several people in the room that really loved God. When people say the name Jesus Christ utilizing both names, I love it. This group referred to him that way all the time. I love to tack Christ on the name Jesus because that is what God made him. On earth he was known as Jesus, a man at whom all the evil in the world was thrown. He died and God raised him up as The Christ. I celebrate that. I’m thankful for that.

This morning my husband was on the phone with someone whom he called to get a question answered about dog food. During the course of the conversation, he found out that the person had attended the school where we taught. So he asked her what her last name was and he recognized the name. A last name identifies a family. (Look what about.com has to say about the surname Jones: “A patronymic name meaning “son of John,” the given name John deriving from the Hebrew ‘Yochanan’ meaning “Jehovah has favoured.” The surname Johnson also comes from this.)

The name “Christ” added to Jesus identifies the family or household of God. If you go through the uses of Jesus in the New Testament after Acts, it is always combined with Christ (mostly), Lord (fewer times in regard to being born again) and both as Lord Jesus Christ. Rarely is it is found alone. One of these refer to ‘another Jesus’. There are lots of people named Jesus in the world but only one Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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Lowliness, humility and meekness mean rising up to God’s vision of ourselves rather than bringing God down to our level.

Through the years I have been involved in several groups and have taken many classes in biblical studies. I enjoy looking at God's word as shared by others. God has a way of connecting us and providing the fellowship we need at just the right time. We can have wonderful, rich connections on a daily basis. Ultimately, however, we each need to take responsibility to get to know God and how much He loves us. Since having started to slowly read and study the Old Testament, I have been amazed by the simplicity of truth and the envelope of love and grace throughout the whole bible. God's son, Jesus Christ is alive today and building his church. The real church is not a building made of bricks and mortar. Instead it is made up of people who believe in God and what God has given us in his son . The Word of God is a rich and powerful because of the gift of holy spirit that inspired its writers and inspires today those who read it.
I started this trek several years ago and presently I am in the books of Samuel. Often, I jump back into the New Testament in my writings because it all relates.

Interesting Books

J Dan Gill - The One- In Defence of God
Wayne Jacobsen - Finding Church- what if there is something more?
I like to read books and I have found the above books to be a blessing. I like to read what others have written and allow God to work in my own heart where I might disagree.